Get It Squiggly Line Man. Get It!! ;) 

The War In Our Stars

Kylo Ren: It's a metaphor

Kylo Ren: you wear the scary breathing mask but you don't actually need it to breathe

Image credit: Penguin Random House, http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/248239/lab-girl-by-hope-jahren/9781101874936/#

Marita here with a super-long review of a book I’m super passionate about. This book isn’t out until spring, but I am counting the minutes because I am going to tell everyone and their mother to read it.

I like my biology on the cellular level or smaller. I like thinking about viruses and bacteria and antibodies. Plants, geology, and ecology are not my cup of tea at all. I’ll admit that a part of that bias is that the more controlled, rigorous, replicable sciences are seen as more “pure” or “hard.” I’m into molecular biology, and molecular biology believes itself more scientific than botany and ecology. You can’t even do your experiments indoors in a controlled environment! You have to rely largely on unpredictable natural events to supply data! Freakin’ hippies. As such, I was a very skeptical when this botanist’s memoir came to my attention.

Oh boy, was I ever blown away.

Hope Jahren is a rare find. She is a scientist who has managed to write a memoir that is humble and grateful. In my experience, intellectual types tend to backhandedly brag about the burden of being a genius at least a little bit in their memoirs. Our author doesn’t fall into that rut. Oh, she describes in great detail the hours, weeks, and months that get swallowed up by lab work. But not once does she imply that it is her natural brilliance that fuels her--she runs on nothing but curiosity and perseverance. Any success she’s experienced is the result of hard work, not natural talent.

And even better--Jahren is an exquisite writer. She speaks of running the shell of a Hawthorne tree’s seed through a mass spectrometer (normally a very dry, incredibly boring procedure), and her description of the incident brought tears to my eyes. 

This is a mass spec readout. Hope Jahren makes this seem like a thing of transcendent beauty. Image credit: IB Chemistry, http://www.ibchem.com/IB/ibnotes/full/ato_htm/12.1.2.htm

Jahren speaks of science the way I think about it, but have never found the right words for. I look at DNA and I see magic and beauty, but when I try to explain my experience to non-science people, their eyes glaze over. Jahren, on the other hand, speaks of the natural world with affection and wonder and joy. She captures that awe in the face of life’s mysteries. In her hands, science becomes a lens through which we can properly appreciate the glory of existence.

This is a book by a female scientist, so I imagine a lot of people will be expecting lots of commentary on how academia is a sexist boys’ club. Well, there isn’t. She’s been underestimated because of her gender; that’s an unavoidable fact for any woman in STEM fields. What I love about this memoir is that she acknowledges this fact and then moves on with her life. She doesn’t give those chauvinists any more of her attention than they deserve, which is none. She’s not a female scientist, she’s a scientist who happens to be female. She’s there to do a job, and that job is not to be offended. It’s to do science.

She does something special in this book, and I’ll love her forever for it: She gives us a peek behind the curtain. Her subject is the nitty-gritty of the scientific process--the undignified, inglorious, ridiculous mishaps and struggles that will never be published in a neat six-page Nature article. We live in a society where scientists present themselves as infallible and enlightened and progressive. If “science” says something, it takes precedent over any other form of knowledge. Jahren shines a light on just how dogmatic and backwards and resistant to change the world of science can be--a lesson we’d all do well to remember the next time a headline screams “Study Reveals Chocolate Helps Fight Cancer.”

Alternating chapters offer a peek into the inner lives of plants (and they are far more alive than we think). It’s a wonderful examination of these organisms we depend on, but often take for granted. Here’s how much these chapters got under my skin: Recently, while watching the Mythbusters episode where they strip a tree of its branches of its branches to make a catapult, I felt outraged at their mutilation of a living thing for entertainment.

And, of course, it would be unforgivable if I didn’t mention Bill. Oh, Bill. Partner-in-crime, best friend, collaborator, Bill is Jahren’s platonic soul mate. He’s the longtime lab partner that has been carted along with her since grad school, through three separate laboratories. He’s also quite possibly the most fun part of this book--or at least his interactions with Jahren are. What otherwise would have been a gorgeous examination of life in research is infused with humor and adventure and the best kind of weirdness thanks to him.

I love this book. It’s one of those books that feels tailor-made for me. But I want the rest of the world to read it, too. I want them to know the sacrifice and toil that went in to every line of those textbooks they fell asleep reading in high school. I want them to know that science isn’t perfect--it’s a conversation between a scientist and her data, and like all conversations, it can have awkward silences and may go in a direction you’re not comfortable with. I want them to know that life, the biological concept of life, is astounding and intrepid and precious. I want them to know that curiosity is a vital resource that should be cherished and nurtured. And I want them to know that fantastic people like Hope Jahren and Bill exist in the world. 

Image credit: The Science Mom, http://the-science-mom.com/1020/growing-plants-seed-germination/

TL;DR Science! Please, please, please read this book.

Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin

Man oh man oh man oh man OH MAN OH MAN.  This book was ammmmaaazzzziinnnngggggg. So good. Wow. Five stars. Fiver.

Let me break it down for you.  So let’s pretend that Hitler and the Axis powers never actually lost WWII.  IN FACT, they won and slowly began taking over the world, filling it with death camps and just lots more death.  Enter Yael. She and her mother were taken to a camp, and Yael became the subject of some extremely nasty German experiments. Unfortunately for the Germans, the experiments that were just supposed to change the pigment of Yael’s skin to that trademark Aryan White actually gave her the ability to skinshift, i.e. the ability to change all aspects of her appearance.

Fast forward ten years, and Yael has found the perfect opportunity for revenge. Every year the Third Reich hosts a cross-continental motorcycle race to commemorate their great victory, and the prize is an audience with Mr. Adolf Hitler himself.  Yael only has to enter the race as Adele Wolf, the only racer and person Hitler has ever let close to him, win it, and then kill Hitler.  Easy Peasy!

Unfortunately killing Hitler is not as easy as that, especially when Adele’s older, overly-protective brother Felix enters the race, along with past love interest Luka–two people who know Adele PRETTY well.  WOWWWW.

Let me further break this down for you:

Alternate history!

Sci-fi skinshifting!

Super attractive love interest with murky past!

Hunger Games-like competition that pits teens against one another at the expense of their safety and lives!

Knife fights, and fist fights, and gun fights, oh my!

Death

Basically everything you could ever want from a YA.

ALSO let me just say that Yael is the most badass girl I have ever encountered.  She puts Katniss Everdeen TO SHAME.  She’s super complex, cares a lot about people, and has trained to KILL HITLER. idk what else you could really want.

I am also going to add that I have an extremely awful habit of reading the ends of books before actually finishing them (I am fully aware that this is shameful bye). I did that while reading this book. I WAS STILL COMPLETELY BLINDSIDED BY THE ENDING.  Don’t ask me how that happens, idk.  And predicting endings is kind of my job (editor over here y’all). Surprise endings don’t really happen for me anymore.  But this IS an alternate history with skinshifting and motorcycle races, so what really could I have predicted lol

Read this book. It’s amazing.

~Melissa, Book Wench

February book haul 📚

Hey, friends! Tori here. I just wanted to gloat about this awesome haul I got at work this week, a glorious blend of paperbacks I've been lusting after and some advance reader's copies that I can't wait to dive into! Definitely top of the stack is gonna be The Land of 10,000 Madonnas by former bookseller and general awesome person Kate Hattemer. Here's what I get from the back of the cover: Prior to his death from a rare congenital heart condition, Jesse prepared a once-in-a-lifetime trip across Europe for his cousins, best friend, and girlfriend. We as readers get to join them on this excursion, as well as in their search for the answer to the question Jesse poses for them: Would you rather live a long, quiet life or a short, heroic one? This isn't my usual shtick; but I cracked it open just to get a feel for it, and before I knew it I'd read the prologue and the first two chapters. I'm definitely hooked, and can't wait to let you guys know about it and my other new treasures. Happy reading!

H! Alia here.

I’m holding an OMG-I’m-going-to-TRY-to-read-all-these-books-this-weekend reading party by myself for these books in time for the American Library Association (ALA) Youth Media Awards on Monday morning! These are just a few of the books being considered RIGHT NOW in secret meetings by the Newbery Committee…

Follow this link for a live webcast of the awards on Monday (8am) and info about every award up for grabs!  

These awards are where they announce the Newbery, Caldecott, Geisel, Pura Belpré, Printz, Sibert, Odyssey, Stonewall, Coretta Scott King, Schneider Awards and more…That’s a lot!! And I’m SO EXCITED for it.

Also, the ALA Midwinter Conference is underway in Boston. Ah a land of Book Talk, ARCs, F&Gs and cool people…

Teachers! Holding Mock Caldecotts and Mock Newberys are GREAT ways to get your kids excited about reading. Woo!

Yay for books! Yay for book awards!

                             Image Credit: Pottermore/Warner Brothers HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET of NOPE!  Dear JK Rowling,

Alia here.  There’s no denying you’re one of the most brilliant minds of our era. You’ve created worlds that we get lost in and complex characters that we love dearly. But with MAGIC IN NORTH AMERICA, something went wrong.  Maybe it’s that you’re not from North America? But surely you did your research into the complexities that are the native peoples of this continent...Maybe it’s that you didn’t grow up constantly bombarded by stereotypical images of native people on TV, in movies, as Halloween costumes, etc.? Maybe it’s because you didn’t go to school here and didn’t receive an incomplete history of native peoples that basically stops after “First Contact” & “Thanksgiving” and ignores modern native people? Perhaps...

There are real issues here. You’re dealing with real people, cultures, traditions and religions and with that comes a lot of responsibility. Native people are already heavily stereotyped around the world as “Magical Beings” and now...they’re in your magical canon! Not only do you refer to them as a monolithic group (there are hundreds of nations in the US alone), you *seem* to imply that native wand-less magic is powerful but not as refined as European magic (due to the power of a wand).

I encourage you, Ms. Rowling, to respond to native academics, fans, etc. who are asking you tough, but important questions. Debbie Reese, Dr. Adrienne Keene and many others have tweeted at you. Here, here, here & here are some EXCELLENT articles that delve into your work from a native perspective. This one is excellent as well. I ask you to check out Debbie Reese and Dr. Adrienne Keene’s websites in general. Just look around. They do great work.

Let’s get this discussion going and please let us know who you consulted for this project because we’re SUPER CURIOUS. (at least I am...) Representation Matters. It really does and yes, anyone CAN write a story, but I’d hope they LISTEN and learn as much as possible before releasing it to the world, especially when you’re dealing with living people, religions, and NATIVE KIDS. There’s a long history of misrepresentation, exploitation and stereotyping of native peoples. There’s also the fact native writers already have a difficult time getting published. They have a hard time telling their own stories. MAGIC IN NORTH AMERICA is problematic and we await your response... Sincerely, A Fan **SIPS TEA (out of the Goblet of Fire)**

Guinea pigs are just the cutest little creatures.

Hello from your friendly neighborhood Book Wench!

Since I’m the first of us slackers to actually post something on here, I figured I’d go ahead and introduce myself and our blog and what we’re about!

So, About Us:

The Book Wenches are a collective of fantastic booksellers, former coworkers, and eternal friends Alia, Claire, Jo Ann, Marita, Melissa, and Tori. Life has drawn several of us away from our beloved bookstore to distant and varied lands of the book industry. Thus out of a desire to keep in touch and to keep each other updated on the books we love, this blog was created!

While you will certainly encounter a wide range of genres, age levels, and interests here, we are all deeply invested in reading and promoting diversity in literature and are huge fans and supporters our faves @weneeddiversebooks.

We’ll be here to talk with you about what we’re reading–what’s new, what’s classic, what’s yet to be…and what’s good.

About Me:

Oh hey, I’m Tori! I’m 25, biracial, and coming to you live from the coffee shop I work in when I’m not out peddling books.

I primarily read Young/New Adult, but you can also expect a good deal of Middle Grade, some picture books, and occasionally an adult book or two (my attention span isn’t really capable of handling anything over 300 pages). The vast majority of what I read is Fantasy and Science Fiction (I am a sucker for a good fairy tale retelling), with a little Romance thrown in. I’m also a big fan of comics and graphic novels.

My favorite book of all time is The Two Princesses of Bamarre. The best book I read this year was Welcome to Night Vale (@welcometonightvalebook). The book I’m most excited about in 2016 is Catherine Egan’s Julia Vanishes (seriously guys, it is so good–I plan to read it at least twice more before it comes out in June)

Let's be friends